Council’s Chief Executive, Gavin Ion said the variation to the District Plan was needed in order to manage the expected doubling of the district’s population over the next 50 years.
“Planning needs to begin now to accommodate that growth and ensure communities and councils are able to support people and protect natural environments.
“Much of the recent growth in the district has been through rural subdivision. The number of rural properties has doubled in the last ten years from about 6,500 to more than 13,000 today.
“This is not sustainable over the longer term and we are looking to tighten some of the rural subdivision and development rules,” he said.
The variation reflects the direction of the council growth strategy that looks to focus on revitalising and growing towns and villages across the district by attracting and planning for more growth in these areas.
Issues such as the loss of productive land, the loss of a country look and feel, the costs of providing infrastructure such as roads and the environmental impacts on rural and coastal areas are also raised.
Variation 16 proposes some new objectives and policies to guide future growth and development and some tightening of rules for subdivision and residential development in rural and coastal zones.
Copies of Variation 16 to the Proposed Waikato District Plan are available on Council’s website www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz, at district libraries in Tuakau, Meremere, Te Kauwhata, Huntly, Ngaruawahia and Raglan, and at the Waikato District Council office in Ngaruawahia.
Submissions on the proposed variation to the District Plan close on Tuesday 30 November 2010.